The Price of Freedom
by Art4Life1
Summary: The North American brothers may know where the dreams are coming from, but there are still things left to sort out. There are so many memories... But while they pile them together, will those concerned about them find out what they have kept hidden all these years? Continuation/sequel to Dreams of Freedom.
1. Speeches

**AN: And here it is. The first chapter of the continuation sequel thing. I'm working on a cover. I'm not sure when it will be done, but I have spring break in about a week and I'm hoping to get things done during that. **

**This is kind of a re-introduction chapter... I don't know. I just didn't add any memories in this one. There will probably be some in the next chapter. I also included an actual speech this time, which is weird for me. I just thought Alfred's speech actually needed to be written this time. I hope I did alright with it. Anyway, please enjoy!**

* * *

Someone was shaking my shoulder

Why were they shaking my shoulder…? …And why was it always the shoulder…? It couldn't be time to get up…

I groaned and rolled over, stuffing the pillow over my face. Just let me sleep, damn it. Please…

"Alfred."

"Don' wanna g't up, Mattie…"

"We have a meeting today Al." Though Matt had started out annoyed, his voice softened. If it had been anyone else I would have gone right back to sleep, but he understood. "I know you want to keep dreaming, but we need to go."

"What if I don't wanna go?"

"Then I'll drag you out of bed." He didn't sound like he was joking… and I knew from experience that he wasn't.

"…alright…" I sat up and opened my eyes. Matthew didn't look very happy. It wasn't because I wasn't getting up either. He looked like all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep.

He hadn't left yet… That meant that he probably didn't want to go to the meeting without me. And I really didn't mean that in an egotistical sort of way. I knew he hated being late.

If he left without me 1) Carlos would probably mistake him for me again. 2) If everyone mistook him for me then things would go to hell. 3) People would most likely be asking about last time and he would be on his own to answer them.

"When's the meeting?" I asked, my mouth sloppily trying to form sentences more words, still trying to clear the sleepiness from my mind. Sadly, the peace flowed out with it.

He didn't have to look at the clock. "We need to be there in thirty."

"Where is it again…?"

Matthew smiled, shaking his head. "It's at my place." Then, his eyes widened slightly and he looked at me, blinking a few times in surprise. "You didn't…"

My eyes widened as well and I shook my head furiously. It hurt me to see how hurt he looked. "No, Matt. I'm just tired and I honestly don't pay attention most of the time when they tell us where these things are." He didn't look convinced. "Matt." I stood up, wobbling slightly as the last of the haziness jetted out. "I didn't forget you, okay? I promise. I'm really sorry that I phrased it like…" I couldn't think of how I could have phrased it differently.

At my lack of words however, he relaxed. "Okay…" He averted his eyes to the floor, a small nervous smile trying to make its way onto his face. "Sorry… I just… overreacted."

I shook my head. "No, you had every right to freak out." I wanted to slap everyone who had ever forgotten him. I couldn't see how they kept doing it. Matt was awesome. "But I won't forget you, ever, okay?"

He nodded, looking back up at me, his smile becoming less strained. "Okay."

After a few moments the seriousness that had overtaken us dribbled out. Matt's slightly joking mood returned and I felt a bit better. I had to watch my words more…

I moved to my dresser and started pulling things out. I tried… kind of… to find something nice, or at least something that Arthur wouldn't make fun of me for. Learned that the hard way when I wore a superhero shirt under my jacket…

I ended up grabbing a white dress shirt and slacks. I really didn't care for the tie. Suddenly, something smacked into my back and fell onto the floor near my feet.

Turning, I looked down. My bomber jacket was on the floor, the white fifty staring up at me. I smiled and picked it up. "Thanks, I always need something thrown at me in the morning." It did look like Matt's mood had lifted now. He just really needed someone to tell him they wouldn't forget him.

Matthew shrugged, smirking slightly. "Should have been quicker." He turned to head out the door. I saw that our notes and bags were by the door already.

I scoffed. "You didn't even give me a warning." I grabbed a shirt that was possibly dirty from the floor and hurled it at him, only for him to whip around at the last moment and catch it. It wasn't in a sloppy way. It was more like he knew exactly where it would be.

"Hockey reflexes, brother."

I shook my head and ran past him, hitting him in the arm before I turned my head and grinned. "Football!"

He laughed. We really couldn't be this way with anyone else. We showed sides to each other that no one else knew about.

"How much time now?"

Matthew looked at his watch, eyes narrowing in thought. "Twenty. Give or take a few minutes."

I nodded and opened the door. I felt so much better than I had the past few days, like we could get away with just about anything. "We can make it."

* * *

We got there just in time to burst through the doors at the hour.

The G8 were meeting today. I wasn't sure if they thought we weren't coming or just planned to go on without us, but they looked ready to start.

"There you are you git." Arthur called, looking annoyed.

Yeah, yeah. We weren't late this time, Arthur. Though… the thought did strike me that he might have been worried with how we had reacted last… week? Yeah, week. Maybe week and half.

Matthew motioned to two empty seats next to each other. More importantly, they were away from anyone that had seen us acting up last time. It was only prolonging the inevitable, but it was a start.

We sat down and Ludwig turned towards us from the podium, his eyes bearing into ours. "Can we begin?"

We nodded, not wanting to give any explanation as to why we had been late.

The meeting went by slowly, the clock ticking like its gears were covered in molasses. The speeches dragged on, all about one problem or another as well as ways to fix it.

Finally, it was my turn. I stood and walked to the podium with my papers. Matt gave me a small thumb's up on the way.

"This will be great." Someone whispered sarcastically. I couldn't tell whose voice it was, but I knew what they were expecting.

Oh look, stupid America's going up there to make a speech. Let's get out our phones and record it. Okay… they didn't record it that often. Ludwig, or Arthur, usually told me to quit with the nonsense. Or a fight would break out.

I opened my mouth to speak, but it fell closed again. I looked over my papers, which, if anyone ever bothered to take a look at them, were completely different from what I actually said during my speeches. They were filled with good ideas, or things that I at least hoped were good ideas. When I spoke at these things I tried to give them things to laugh about, something to brighten up their days, even if that meant that thing was me.

Show them more of yourself… that was what she had said.

Okay, Gaho…. I'll try. I took a deep breath. Matthew smiled at me and nodded, like he knew exactly what I was going to do. And he did.

I looked out at the nations, many so much older than myself. The words came out slowly at first. I wasn't sure what to address and almost not sure how to do it seriously anymore. General problems seemed like a good starter. "I know things have been tough." Isn't that the truth? "They've been getting worse the past few years and it keeps going downhill, but I think that we can fix it." This was when they thought all the nonsensical ideas would start. "We have the ability, the methods, the time. We want our citizens to live in the best world possible right?" He could see their expressions start to change. The surprise and confusion about what I was actually doing was showing. Most of them didn't even try to hide it. I think Kiku was the only one who managed.

"We want them to have equal opportunities and jobs and be able to raise their families in a good place. Why don't we talk to our bosses? High unemployment rate: we can give them more job opportunities. We can bring more chances. Starving kids-" Or just people in general. "-We can do more food drives. Soup kitchen and things like that. We can get food out there and stop wasting it. And we need to work on pollution. We can try and cut down on smog the factories produce and the exhaust cars put out. Healthcare-" I hesitated. This would sound hypocritical as of late… But it did need to be said. I meant it too.

"-we should have more healthcare that's free. People shouldn't have to pay if they need a checkup or get something done when it's hurting them. We can give kids better schooling too and if they don't have any than we can get it to them ASAP." I paused and no one said anything. "If we have the time then we should spend it trying to fix things rather than fighting with one another."

The room was completely silent. As I looked out at them, trying to figure out what they were thinking, my voice caught in my throat. As much as I hated to admit it, I was scared.

Did they hate it? Would they start yelling at me at how stupid I had sounded or how horrible the ideas were? They always seemed to do that… It was my fault, but… still.

Would they ridicule me for trying to contribute after hiding for so long?

Matthew motioned, just enough for me to catch, and I turned my attention to him instead of the others. He was grinning. That alone made me feel a million times better.

'That was amazing, Al. You did great.'

He was proud of me. I smiled and nodded, slowly stepping off the podium. I was ready for it, or I suppose as ready as I'd ever be. If they were going to yell at me then go ahead. Their eyes were following me, like… I guess shocked birds would be a good example.

Then, suddenly, there was a noise. Someone was clapping.

My head turned, eyes wide, and I saw Feliciano. The Italian was grinning as well, though it didn't give off the same feeling it usually did. This grin was excited and happy in a different manner. "Molto bene, Alfred."

I smiled back at him. I was never really for sure before this, but he did know and now he was glad I had stopped hiding, or pretending, even if it was just for the moment. After all, we were atmosphere searching partners. "Thanks." I sat next to Matthew and as soon as my butt hit the chair he stood and started walking to the podium. He used the new silence as his entrance. He was always really good at that and I kind of admired it.

When he was situated, he looked out at them. "And on my brother's note, let me continue." For a moment I saw his face shift. It was just slight, not as bad as when he was at world meetings, but I still caught it. He was nervous.

Matt's voice was always quiet. Or at least here it was. Unless he got angry. Okay, so about half the time it was quiet. He was never really sure when he was talking at the right volume because no one ever seemed to hear him. Sometimes he could be shouting at the top of his voice and no one would turn to look.

There were a few times that it was funny, though. Not for the other nations, but for Matt. It would be on days when everyone was generally oblivious. He would shout random things from the top of his lungs, like 'Paper! Monkey! Trees!', sometimes maybe five inches from someone, and they would be only tune in when we were laughing our asses off. Or at times they would lose it when they heard how loud his voice could get and fall out of their chairs.

I caught his eye, smiling. 'You're doing great bro. We can hear you fine.' I knew he was nervous about generally talking in front of them too. It usually depended what the topic was for who was the better public speaker, but he was usually fine once he got going. 'I know your ideas are great. Just tell 'em to me.'

He nodded slightly and after a few words it went along without a hitch.

Oh, there would definitely be questions when this was over…

* * *

"Alright, you're dismissed."

I felt a wave of relief flow across the room. The meeting was finally over. Thank god.

I leaned back in my chair and stared at my papers. My brain started to wander off. I really just wanted to go home. Go home without paperwork or some shit and not be busy for like… a day. That would be really nice. Oh, and Matt could spend the night. Well, he was already spending the night but… whatever. It worked.

"Al."

I jumped slightly, my head turning a bit too quickly. "What?" He sounded worried.

Matthew looked behind me. I glanced in that direction and saw that Francis, Arthur and Yao had almost reached us. Well, fuck.

'What are we gonna do?' I asked hurriedly.

'I don't know! What do they want to hear?'

'That we're okay, I guess. I mean, I don't know what Yao wants to know, but-"

'Alfred.'

'Right, uh… we could say that we um… we… we… I don't know. We played horror games all night. That's not hard to believe, right?'

'Well… no, I guess not. But what about the language shift?'

'Oh… shit, I forgot about that. Um… weeeee….'

'We…. We kinda forgot how to speak English? That's the truth and they do it sometimes.'

It was true. It happened more than one would think. If one of us was zoning off and someone shot us back into reality we would momentarily forget to speak whatever language we were currently using and revert to our native one… Or something similar.

The three had reached us now. At least we had been able to come up with a cover story in those couple of seconds, no matter how crappy.

Arthur looked us over, his voice shifting when he said, "Well, it's good to see both of you here." He sounded almost awkward and he actually looked… genuinely glad to see us. It was weird that he wasn't being sarcastic or angry.

Francis nodded enthusiastically. He looked happy that Arthur hadn't switched into his default mode and scolded us. "Oui, how are you two doing?"

"Fine." Matthew stated simply. I knew that he didn't want to lie to them if he didn't have to and we both didn't want to give an explanation.

The Frenchman's face shifted slightly, a skeptical expression starting to form with a now worried one. "Are you sure?"

When we both nodded, Yao was the one who became annoyed. He sighed, glancing at the two Europeans. "Please, ask ."

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "I was getting to that."

They waited a few moments and the Brit still hadn't said anything. Yao shook his head slightly and took the initiative.

"What happened last time?"

"We stayed up too late playing video games." I answered, not hesitating. Did they think they were talking to the same five year olds that had stolen the last cookie and shared it? Nope, not anymore. Now they had cover stories and no crumbs on their faces.

"And?" Francis prodded.

"They were horror games." Matthew continued, as if that was all they needed to know. He shrugged nonchalantly, acting like the way we had reacted had been normal.

Arthur's eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest. "How does that explain your change in language?"

We glanced at each other before Matthew spoke again. It was more likely that they would believe him than me. Probably… "We were surprised. And it's not like you don't do that."

Their disbelieving faces didn't change.

"Would you like me to demonstrate?" When they didn't answer he stood and looked around the room. There weren't many nations left from the meeting, but the stragglers would have to do. Matthew walked to a nearby bookcase, picked out a large book that was easily five hundred pages, and raised it to eye level. He held it away from his body and, after briefly looking like he was apologizing to the poor thing, threw it on the ground as hard as he could manage.

The reactions were varied as a loud 'bang!' echoed through the nearly silent room. A few nation's heads shot up. Several jumped or made a little noise. The Italies were the loudest.

The twins jumped, one a bit higher than the other. Both of them yelled different things.

"Che cazzo?!"

"Ah, mi dispiace!"

The two whipped around and stared at Matthew, their eyes wide. Matt bent down and slowly picked up the book, looking embarrassed. "Sorry." He whispered.

I was glad the reactions hadn't been more violent. It wasn't too hard to imagine one of them pulling a weapon because the book falling had sounded like gunshot.

After a few moments the Italy brothers returned to what they were doing, although Lovino looked a little angry about it. When the book was put back, Matt returned and smiled. I could tell it was strained. He just wanted to get out of here, too. "See?"

The three couldn't deny that we'd made a point. Eventually, they nodded. Or Arthur and Francis did. Yao was just… standing there. The Chinese man looked like he was leaving it up to the two standing next to him.

"Alright… You pass." Arthur muttered.

We nodded in return and gathered our things. It wasn't like what was going on was any of their business. I understood that they were concerned, but if they went any further than this… Let's just hope they wouldn't.

'Good plan.' I remarked, stuffing my papers into my bag.

'Thanks. I didn't want to scare the living hell out the Italies, though.' He replied, sounding slightly guilty.

'yeah… but we shouldn't have to do it again.'

The two of us walked out before anyone could come in about the shouts or our previous guardians and Yao decided that our answers hadn't satisfied them. If they asked again we wouldn't know how to answer and I really doubted that they would listen to the same story twice.

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading! Please tell me what you think.**

**Translations:**

**Che cazzo(Italian)- What the fuck?**

**Mi dispiace(Italian)-I'm sorry**


	2. Ringing?

**AN: Yay, second chapter! Thank you spring break for allowing me to write! ****Hope you all enjoy it. For the memory in this chapter Alfred is around four, maybe five.**

* * *

I walked inside, shutting the door behind Alfred after he had walked in. Despite knowing that we had gotten out of the situation, I still felt like it had been a close call. They could have easily asked us more questions and probably wouldn't hesitate to do so in the future.

After a moment, I huffed softly. I was home, or the closest thing to it besides my actual country, and I didn't think needed to worry about it here. Not yet.

I set my notes and paperwork down along with my other things on the floor; though I knew I would have to move them in a minute. I wished I didn't have to worry about those either, but it came with the job.

My eyes moved upwards and I saw Alfred was looking at my notes as well. His eyes shifted from them to me, asking, 'Aren't ya gonna pick that up?'

I smiled slightly and shook my head, but picked them up anyway. I walked with them into the kitchen, wondering just how much work I actually had, and set them on the table. The pile tipped over, though thankfully nothing much fell out. I decided I would fix it later.

"Can you believe they actually bought it?" Alfred called from the living room, making it sound like our near escape had been laughable.

I nodded, smirking lightly. "I know. I think we're getting better at this." I truly didn't like not telling them what was actually going on, but… we hadn't told anyone for centuries. We hadn't said anything about her or even hinted at it. …Why start now? I also had no idea how they would react, what they would do, and not to mention the fact that it wasn't their business.

When I returned to the room Alfred was lounging on the couch, taking up all the room. I briefly rolled my eyes at him before sitting in the chair across from the it. I paused, debating on looking at my watch. "How long was that meeting?"

He shrugged, looking almost like he didn't care. "I don't know."

I glanced at my watch, eyebrows furrowing. It had been a good few hours. Hmm…. For once, it actually hadn't felt that long.

"Matt…" Alfred whined.

I chuckled and turned my attention back to him. "What?" I asked, pretending to be frustrated.

He smiled and motioned towards the floor next to him. I followed his movement and noticed that Kuma had just arrived. He was sitting there calmly, looking between us. When he saw that he had gotten our attention, he said rather bluntly,

"Food."

My eyes widened slightly. Right, he needed lunch too. It was late, but... better late than never. I smiled slightly at him and stood, glad that I had remembered to feed him earlier before we had left. "Right. Sorry Kuma."

He gave me a 'hmm' but overall seemed indifferent, or maybe he just accepted the apology. I quickly re-entered the kitchen and grabbed a bowl and a… "Alfred, did you move the salmon?"

I heard a clipped, "Hmm?" from the other room.

I laughed, turning to look at him. "You're worse than the bear, Al."

He sat up, grinning through the circular doorway. "Hey, I am not." He pointed to the left of me. "It's in the cabinet to the left of the sink."

After I had found it the can opener was easy enough to get. As I tried to actually get the can opener on the can, Kuma spoke.

"You seem better."

I paused and looked down at him, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I am." Though he had been with me for a long time, I still was touched that he had been concerned. "Thanks."

He nodded, tilting his head slightly. "I'm glad you're not lying. I could sense it if you were."

For a moment, I blinked, but then I realized that it was true. Animals could sense things that humans couldn't, even if said human was a nation. "I really shouldn't lie to you then." I answered, slightly joking. Maybe I should watch out for that later on though, so I wouldn't worry him.

He nodded. I wasn't sure if he knew I was joking or not. "No, you shouldn't."

Soon enough there was a bowl filled with canned salmon for my friend. As I walked back to the living room, I saw that Alfred looked a bit bored. I smiled slightly to myself. That was never good.

"What do you wanna do, dude?"

I sat in my previous seat and shrugged, answering back, "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

He looked at me a moment and then smiled. "This doesn't need to end up like the vultures from Jungle Book, Matt."

I smiled too, knowing exactly where this was going. Grabbing a pillow that was next to me, I threw it at him. He blocked it so that it didn't hit his head, however. "The line is 'I don't know. What do you want to do?'"

Alfred grinned, letting the pillow fall down. "What's our record?" He seemed exited to hear it.

I paused, thinking. When I couldn't come up with any numbers, I answered, almost confused, "I… actually don't know." When we were bored sometimes we would just count how many times we could go on with it. If anyone else was in the room or even around the house they would become so annoyed they would either leave or make us stop. But even then we could still do it silently. Though, I don't think we had recorded our highest number.

"What do you want to do?"

I found myself laughing. This was kind of stupid, but it didn't matter. "Okay, now you ruined it."

Alfred scoffed. "No, I didn't."

I nodded. "Yes, you did."

"Let's not do this." He tried to sound serious, but failed miserably.

I leaned forward, knowing I couldn't do this with anyone else, even Gil. That only made it more enjoyable. "Want to go?"

He nodded, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Sure, any time."

Kuma was watching us with slight interest from his food. He had seen us do this before, but he still liked to see how it went sometimes. I thought maybe it was amusing to him. "Hockey." I stated.

He shot back, "Football."

I snorted. He looked at me oddly for a second, but when I asked lightly, "Which one?" he understood.

Alfred rolled his eyes, groaning, and threw the pillow back at me. "Don't start with me. I get enough of that from Europe." But he was laughing now too. We both were.

I wondered what gaho would do if she could see us. Though, she probably could. She was probably rolling her eyes at us right now.

After around a minute we calmed down. Kuma had returned to the living room and was now lying next to my chair. I smiled slightly at him and he nodded in my direction.

Alfred sat up a bit more. He looked like he was about to say something, but suddenly both of us jumped. For a moment, we looked around at the ringing that now filled house confusedly before my brother reached into his pocket. Oh. Of course it was the phone.

I expected him to answer it right away, but as soon as he looked at it his smile disappeared. I found mine doing so as well, worried. "What is it?"

He huffed softly and looked up. The expression in his eyes had changed as well, becoming frustrated and even annoyed. "Arthur." He deadpanned.

I deflated. That was just great… Now he was calling us. I really hoped it was just about another meeting.

Despite not wanting to, Alfred answered the phone before it ended the call. Not answering would only make the Brit more worried. He walked into the hall and stayed there, his mouth moving every now and then.

I didn't need to hear the conversation to see where it was going. All I had to do was look at how he was standing and what gestures he was making. They shifted fairly quickly; one moment annoyed and the next guarded. I wondered exactly what Arthur was asking about, but I was sure he would tell me, or at least give me the gist of it.

The call only lasted maybe four minutes. Alfred returned, looking none too triumphant, and set the phone aside.

Kuma seemed to have noticed our shift in mood and was now looking between us. He asked Alfred, almost hesitantly, "What?"

Alfred blinked at him a moment, not used to the bear asking him things, and smiled slightly. I could see that it wasn't real and I was pretty sure that Kuma could as well. "It's nothing much. Artie's just worried."

After a few moments of Kuma staring at him the bear finally nodded and put his head down. I think he had just decided to leave it alone for the moment, or just listen to us for the real answer.

"What did he say?" I questioned softly, already guessing the many things it could be from today alone.

He shrugged. "If we're okay, what the hell my speech was about… What the hell happened last week." He smiled, but there was no humor in it. "Yeah… he'll run us down at the next meeting."

I sighed softly. "When is that?" I didn't have any idea. Ludwig hadn't said anything about it at today's meeting, which was odd. Maybe Arthur had said something.

"I think its next week." He spoke quietly, a little unsure. Apparently the Englishman hadn't said. We both hoped it was next week. Or further off than that.

Alfred looked at me warily. "Francis hasn't called you, has he?"

I realized that my phone had still been on silent from the meeting and took it out. After a few moments of scrolling I shook my head, relieved. "No, he hasn't." When Alfred didn't respond, I looked up again. He was staring at his hands almost uncomfortably. "What's wrong?"

Alfred glanced up before shrugging, smiling again. "It's nothing… Arthur was just… being a prick."

My eyes narrowed and I suddenly felt very protective. "What did he say?"

"He asked where I'd gotten my speech from. Like I hadn't made it up myself…"

"Don't listen to him." I stated, trying to sound reassuring despite feeling angry. "He doesn't know." You didn't just say things like that… especially not to someone you had once watched over. He should know better. "He was probably just shocked."

After a moment, he nodded slowly. "Yeah…" He didn't sound so sure. There was a moment of silence and he locked eyes with me, hopeful. "Want to get some sleep?"

I had a brief moment of hesitation, knowing that we shouldn't make a habit out of this, but nodded anyway. It sounded really nice at the moment. "Sure."

He smiled again and this time it was real.

* * *

_I was running through the field again. The grass nearly came over me and I had no idea where I was headed, but I didn't really care. I was going wherever we wanted and I knew that nothing could stop us._

_Brother called down to me. I roared back in return. We were moving further in. I didn't know how far this place went. It could just go on forever. Maybe it was however long we wanted it be. _

_The thought filled me with happiness. We had no worries here. We could just be free._

_The wind whipped through my fur. For a moment I wondered if this was how Kuma felt if he were running and… well… I don't know. I was a polar bear here. He was a polar bear. It was interesting being on four legs._

_You could run so much faster with four, but we were so awkward doing it. Here it was natural almost, just like it was natural for brother to fly here._

_I paused and soon all thoughts of everything else had vanished and I was here wholeheartedly. I ran and ran, laughing. Couldn't we just stay here?_

_The flapping of wings grew closer. I turned my head and saw brother next to me, flying just above. He twirled around, nodding towards me._

_I smiled. Showoff!_

_He laughed and we continued forward. We were getting close to a section of forest. The trees were dense and a rich, bright green. They were luscious and really, really healthy, like no one had ever set foot in them before. There was nothing I could say that would even begin to describe, despite only being a small section, how tremendous they were. They touched the sky and almost looked to be waving at us._

_I heard another set of wings; stronger and filled with personality. I was about to look back, but gaho reached us quicker. Even though I had been happy before, I was immensely more so now that she was here. She smiled at us, laughing as well. She was glad to see us as well._

"_Hello." She said, her voice echoing almost as it had done before. _

_I grinned. I ran and they flew, never tiring, until we reached the forest. I paused when we got there, looking up at the towering trees above us. "Wow…"_

_Gaho laughed and I returned my gaze to the ground, noticing that brother had already entered the patch of trees. She turned to me and smiled, nodding her head towards the forest. "Go ahead, Ohanzee."_

_I smiled and nodded, running inside. She followed behind; watching almost like a mother would if her children were on a playground._

_Once inside I saw that it was… beautiful; breath taking. Sun rays filtered through the tree branches, bringing light to the shadows. The trees themselves were rich in color, ranging from red to a rich dark brown, and they seemed really… bright. I would have been content to just sit here and watch._

_I spotted Gaho up in the trees, sitting on a high branch. She looked at me and spoke softly._

"_You can explore if you wish. Whatever you want."_

_I nodded and wandered a bit to my right, not sure where the stretch of woods ended anymore. I followed the trees, looking in awe as the animals scurried over the branches and as a few greeted me. Soon I reached a clearing of sorts. _

_It was small. The trees hadn't grown here, though at the same time they encircled it. It almost reminded me of a small sanctuary. _

_I walked into the center and, once there, I stared. More light rays filtered through the leaves and gaps in the branches. They almost seemed to glow, spreading out to illuminate whatever they wanted. I turned and looked behind me to see that there were many different sets. The rays seemed to intersect and blend with each other, seemingly reflecting the colors of their surroundings, becoming almost like something that I recognized. They shifted and moved, ever so slowly, and didn't seem to stay the same. Every time I blinked there were new colors and they moved similar to the way a river or the wind would._

_They grew even though the amount of light stayed the same, and some began to twist above me. It was amazing._

_I sat and watched them, feeling completely at peace._

* * *

_I flew through the various rifts in the branches, in the leaves, exploring this wondrous bit of woods. It was incredibly beautiful. _

_There were so many places I could fly, despite the things that might have been obstacles, and I loved it. I absolutely loved it._

_I shifted from places of light and dark alike, feeling so at home. Some animals greeted me and other times I greeted them. They didn't seem to mind me and at times seemed happy with my presence. It felt nice that they didn't dislike me; that they didn't want me to leave._

_And I wasn't planning on it. I flew lower to the ground, soaking in the details. Flowers, clovers, anything I could imagine decorated the forest floor. When I looked at the trees once more I saw a few vines grew over them, decorating them. _

_The area around me was becoming darker, but I knew that it wasn't threatening. I welcomed it and flew further in. After a moment, something caught my eye. It was a brief flash of light penetrating the shadows. For a moment, I flew and then I saw it again, further away. Oh!_

_I flew higher and perched on a comfortable branch, watching and waiting. After a moment I saw it again. It was another flash, though this time another followed it. Fireflies. I loved to chase them, though now I just wanted to observe._

_With every moment more and more came, circling around each other and flashing at different times. A few times I tried to predict which ones would flash, but every time the ones I thought were going to didn't, so I stopped and merely took it in._

_They went around each other, weaving in and out in different patterns and shapes. The way they blinked at different times, the way it was delayed, was nice. It was relaxing. _

_Sometimes light would come in from above and blend in with them and they would fly around it, making it a part of their show. I watched in wonder, loving everything they did. It seemed to go on forever._

_Something else hit my ears, some sound other than the wind and trees. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was far away. Then, as soon as it came, it was gone._

_I continued watching them, smiling, but it came again, closer this time. I looked around, my eyes narrowing. What could it be? It sounded…it was almost a high pitched sound. It echoed slightly, but in a different way than everything else did. It almost rang._

* * *

My eyes opened, slowly and reluctantly. After a moment, I sighed, long and tired. After a minute or so, I forced myself to get up, now hearing my phone's annoying ringtone throughout the house. I was careful not to disturb Matthew, though I couldn't tell where he was at the moment, still half asleep. I couldn't tell who was calling either…

Sloppily, I picked up the phone and slid it to answer. "Huh?" I asked, my brain sluggishly trying to pick things out.

A voice answered, deep and authoritative. "Where are you?" It asked.

My eyes narrowed confusedly. Was that Ludwig? I answered slowly, almost curious, "At my house…" It nearly sounded like a question rather than an answer.

The German sighed. Sadly, I could tell my brain was starting to become more awake. "Why aren't you here? And is your brother there?"

I paused, confused now, though a part of me was now annoyed. Had he forgotten Matt's name again? "Yes, _Matthew _is here." I answered, my voice sounding less sluggish. I tried to keep it down, as not to wake my brother. "And we're at my house."

I wondered why he was calling, though a small part of my brain wondered somehow if Arthur had put him up to it. But that didn't make sense. I heard I heard shifting and turned to see Matt sitting up on the bed across the room.

"…What is it…?" He asked, practically still dead to the world. I waved him off, mouthing, 'Go back to sleep.' He just shrugged slightly and did so.

I returned my attention to the German on the other side of the phone. I was sure he was angry. "Why are you calling?" Couldn't they just leave us alone for a little bit…? Was that too much to ask?

I heard him sigh. He was trying to keep calm. "You aren't at the meeting." He stated.

After blinking a few times I answered dumbly with, "What meeting?" I wasn't still dreaming, was I?

"The one that's going on right now." Yup, he was definitely angry and… Wait, right now? "I sent you reminders all of last week. Didn't you get them?"

I took the phone away from my ear and started scrolling through my messages. One day ago, two, three… Oh. I answered without thinking, "Yeah… they're here." After the words left my mouth I nearly slapped myself. I could have just said I didn't get them. Real smart Alfred, real smart. Gah… I might have gotten them, but that didn't mean I'd read them or even registered that they were there. …If he knew he might cut us a break, but there was no way I was saying anything.

Ludwig was quiet for a moment and then he asked slowly, "Were you sleeping?"

I answered just as slow, nervous he would start yelling. "No…"

He sighed. "Just get here." Before he hung up I thought I heard him mumble, "I don't know why I got stuck with calling you." It may have been my imagination… Probably not, though.

I huffed and stuck the phone in my pocket, smiling slightly when I saw that my brother had really gone back to sleep. Great, I though sarcastically, almost jokingly. I still felt a lot better than I had before I had fallen asleep, despite the fact that we would probably miss half of the meeting.

Now I had to wake the hockey stick wielding maniac up.

* * *

We burst through the doors for the second time that day. Apparently we had only been given a few hours break and the meeting had been set to continue. That was what Ludwig's texts had said at least.

And, of course, he had been right and everyone was now annoyed with us.

I walked to my seat with Matthew, somewhat surprised there were still two seats next to each other and that someone hadn't just sat in one out of spite.

There was a speech currently going on. It was Feliciano's. The Italian was talking about something that I'm sure would have made much more sense if we had been here for the start of it.

I glanced at Matt and he shrugged, not catching on either. We both turned and saw Arthur and Francis looking at us from across the table, probably trying to figure us out. Francis was trying to be somewhat discreet about it, but Artie sure wasn't. That was almost funny, but when I thought about the call it really wasn't. We had already been late and now we had nearly missed a meeting. If there was a chance that they had believed us, it was surely gone now.

We needed to get out of here quickly when this was over and watch out for any breaks that we had. Man, I really didn't want to worry about this on my breaks…

Arthurs words from earlier popped into my head. They went along the lines of, 'I'll find out somehow, so you might as well tell me.'

I tensed and fought the urge to glare at him. It annoyed me that he was even trying to persist about the subject. If it was something else I would have been more okay with it, but not this. It wasn't any of his business… He probably thought that we had forgotten some of what had happened, but he was wrong. We remembered… how could we not?

_I sat, curled up in my blankets. I was wide awake and I could smell Arthurs cooking coming from the kitchen, but I didn't want to get up. I wasn't hungry… I didn't want to move._

"_Alfred, your food is done!"_

_I managed a weak, "Okay." from my room. My voice wasn't as loud as usual, but it hurt to make it louder._

_There was silence for a few moments. I knew he was waiting to hear me, maybe my feet rushing in or just another response saying I would be there soon. When there was nothing, I heard his footsteps. They came slowly towards my room. I curled up tighter._

_He stepped into the doorway. I could tell he was worried. He always looked like that when he was, with his eyebrows scrunched up. They looked like caterpillars. "Are you alright?" He asked._

_I nodded slowly. "M'hmm."_

_He sighed and knelt in front of where I sat. "Alfred." I thought I was going to be scolded, but he continued, "You know you can tell me when something is wrong."_

_I blinked, suddenly feeling guilty and wondering if I had somehow hurt his feelings. I nodded._

_His voice was softer. It wasn't angry. "Then what is wrong?"_

_Slowly, I moved the covers from around me. I saw his eyes looking me over, checking to see if I was hurt. But I'd checked too. I didn't have any cuts or anything… but… "My tummy hurts." I whispered, looking up at him. Maybe he could fix it._

_He stared at me for a moment and then asked, "Where?" Something looked different. It might have been something about his voice…_

_I looked at my stomach and shifted to test it. As soon as my weight was on one side a pain shot up it. Then, I tested the other side. The same thing happened. "Everywhere…"_

_Arthur's face softened and he picked me up, trying to be careful. When I looked at him, asking him what was wrong because he always seemed to know everything, he smiled lightly. "It's nothing, lad." He answered._

_It must have shown on my face that I wasn't sure. I asked slowly, "Really?"_

_He nodded. "Yes, it's fine. It's nothing you need to worry about." _

_I still wasn't sure, but I didn't want him to be worried about me so I nodded. "Okay…" _

_His smile widened and he shifted me. "Would you like to try and eat?" _

_I hadn't eaten all day, but I _really _wasn't hungry. I shook my head. His expression fell, but he nodded. "Alright. Do you want to lie back down?"_

_When I nodded, he set me back on the bed. He couldn't be lying to me… could he?_

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think. **


	3. Planning

**AN: And here is chapter three. Um... what do I need to say..? Memory Matt is around five like Alfred. Also, thank you guys for all of the reviews and everything. And... I think that's it. Enjoy!**

* * *

I shifted, trying to find some comfort in these chairs that held none whatsoever. We hadn't been sitting for too long, or at least I didn't think so, but one of my legs had already fallen asleep. The speeches had gone by somewhat quickly at least and… wait; we didn't have to give another… did we?

The thought made my brain freeze for a moment. We were not prepared in the slightest. Even if we could make something up on the spot it wouldn't be enough.

A voice became prominent in my mind, like someone was whispering. 'It's okay bro. We did ours yesterday.'

I turned, my eyebrow's furrowing. 'Are you sure we don't have another one?'

Alfred nodded ever so slightly. 'Yeah, I'm pretty sure.' He paused. 'Did we even check the clock before we rushed here? I don't even know if it's still yesterday or today anymore. Or… Yeah.'

I fought the urge to smile. They would see we weren't paying attention if I did that. 'That's a confusing way to put it, Al.'

He shrugged. 'My brain's still trying to catch up. I know Ludwig told us, or we had to figure it out ourselves almost, which sounds stupid, but…'

I realized that he was right and I wasn't referring to the part we had been informed of. His thoughts had a bit of a far off tone to them, and his eyes looked the same. I think I knew what he had been thinking about too. 'Don't worry about it. They shouldn't pry too much.'

'Yeah… maybe. So what day is it?'

I pulled out my phone, quickly turning it on and scanning it before slipping it into my pocket again. 'It's still yesterday Al.'

He groaned softly. 'We're gonna get home so late.'

I nodded, not even bothering to check or ask how long this was going to last. It would seem like forever either way unless Gil broke in again or everyone started arguing. Despite how amusing the first option was, I just wanted this to be done with. I wish they had just waited until the next day to continue this…

I sensed something in the corner of my eye. There it was again…

Throughout the meeting I had felt Arthur or Francis glancing at me and I knew my brother had too. Other than the obvious reasons it was no wonder he had wanted to stroll down memory lane. As long as he didn't go too far that is…

My head returned to its original position, and I saw that the speech givers had switched out. Elizaveta had been replaced with Feliks. He had already started his speech and was now smiling as he talked about something I still couldn't quite grasp. I guess Al and I weren't so far off with where our heads were at after all… Though, I did see that he was speaking more to Toris than anyone else. Sometimes I forget that he's shy around a lot of people he doesn't know.

I kept watching, making sure that if I got lost in thought, which was assured to happen, that I would at least look as though I were paying attention. Part of me was sorry for not listening, but… it was coming and that wouldn't change.

I remembered, though I wasn't sure when whatever it was, the stomach ache or… whatever you wanted to call it, had appeared exactly. It had probably started earlier if I could take a guess.

_The house was quiet. I couldn't hear anything from my chair, other than the chatter of animals coming in from the outside. Birds chirped not far away and when I turned to look out the window I saw one perched just outside, feet attached to the edge. _

_It stared at me, moving every so often. I couldn't be sure as to what kind it was… but it did have really nice coloring; black and blue. After a moment of staring back I smiled at it. It chirped again and flapped its wings._

_Could it be hungry…?_

_I wondered if I could feed it… Maybe I could ask Arth- Oh. Wait… The quiet, or near silence, in the house also meant that Arthur had gone away again. He had said that he would be back soon, though that was what he always said. _

_I shrugged slightly to myself, saying to the bird, "I will look for something in a minute, okay?" It did nothing in response other than tilt its head, but it was good enough for me. I didn't want it to go hungry. I turned, grabbing a quill that Arthur had let me use. I just needed to finish writing this letter… then I would get the food for the birdie._

_My eyebrows furrowed in concentration as I began writing again, trying to sit up on the desk that was still too big for me. I needed to get this right._

'_I hope I can see you soon. Arthur's house is really big and everything and he is nice. He treats us alright, but his food isn't as good as yours. I'm still not used to it.'_

_I paused. I really did miss his food. If it made any sense, it tasted like home. I sighed softly and continued writing. _

'_I love Alfred. He's a great brother. We play all the time, even if it annoys Arthur, and we tell stories. I already know him, or knew him, and that helps… But I do really miss you, Papa. Please write back soon, as soon as you get this. If you can. I know that you are busy. But I really want to hear your words again.'_

_I reread the entire letter, scrutinizing every detail. It had to sound okay… After a few moments I nodded to myself, knowing that he would read it, and quickly signed it. My head turned towards the window and I was happy to see that the bird was still there._

_I grinned. "I'll get you food soon birdie." What would a bird want to eat…?_

_Again, the only response I got was a head tilt, maybe a flap of wings, but I knew that it heard me and that made me happy. I was about to stand when another bird landed next to the first. My eyes widened and I went closer to the window. When I had knelt close to the window I looked between the two. They weren't the same kind. They both had different markings and were even different sizes._

"_Is this your friend?" I asked, talking to the first bird. The bird didn't reply, though I didn't expect it to. They could be friends, I decided. Why not?_

_There were footsteps behind me, entering the room. They were recognizable, even if they were slower than usual. _

_My smile widened, though I didn't turn just yet. I saw the birds looking around, into the room. "Hi Alfred." My brother loved to feed the animals with me. I turned around, but when I saw him my expression fell. He wasn't smiling, which was usually the sign that something was wrong. But more than that, he almost looked pained. He also seemed almost… small. That was a word I wouldn't associate with him, even if he was a little bit younger than me and we were both little. _

_I stood immediately, hurrying over to him. If there was one thing I couldn't stand to see it was him hurting. "What's wrong?" _

_His hands were covering his stomach. Was he sick?_

"_My tummy hurts, Mattie."_

_I sat in front of him on the floor and he sat with me. My eyes narrowed as they looked over his stomach, like that would let me see what was wrong with it. I didn't want to touch it. That would only make it hurt worse. "Did Arthur say anything?"_

_Alfred shook his head, his almost scared blue eyes meeting my purple. "He told me not to worry about it."_

_I frowned. Why would Arthur say that? Shouldn't he just help make it better? "When?"_

_He shrugged slightly. "A little before he left. I think it was a few days ago…" He made a face, one that he always had when he was sick or hurt. _

"_It will be okay." I wished Arthur were here now. He would be able to help. But why would he leave if Alfred had this bad of a tummy ache? Did he think it had stopped?_

_He blinked at me, trying to be hopeful. "…really?"_

_I nodded, smiling slightly. "Of course. You'll be okay and we will be okay."_

_After a moment or so he nodded slowly. "Okay…" He made another face. "But it still hurts Mattie. Even if I think it'll be okay."_

_I tried to think of what to do, but I really wasn't sure. I wanted to make him feel better, but I couldn't stop whatever was hurting him… What should I do? After around half a minute of silence Alfred's voice told me that I had been quiet for too long._

"_Matthew?"_

_He sounded scared. I was scared too. What if it got worse? But I smiled at him. He knew that I was worried. We could tell with each other, but… I met his eyes, serious. "Then we will make it okay." _

_Alfred's hands curled, making small fists. He nodded, a determined look crossing his face. "Okay."_

_The birds cheeped again. I saw Alfred's eyes widen and shift quickly towards the window, curious. I smiled, standing up and holding a hand out to him. "Let's feed the birdies, Al." _

_He looked up at me, immediately brightening. "Really?"_

_I nodded and slowly pulled him up. He winced, but seemed okay for the most part. We turned and walked down the stairs, going much slower than we would normally. A thought popped into my head. "Do we need to get you food, too?" _

"_Um…"_

_I turned my head, not wanting to get him anything if it wouldn't do any good. "Is soup okay? I know how to make that." When he nodded I smiled. He looked like he was agreeing and not just doing so because he knew it would make me feel better. "Okay. Do you want to give the birdies food first?" He nodded once more._

"_M'hmm. The birdies tummies don't hurt. They need food."_

_We were nearing the bottom of the stairs. "But you do too Alfie."_

_My brother turned, smiling lightly. "They need it more." He continued down the last few steps, though I didn't follow. He looked back at me, his eyes a little lighter than before. "It will be okay Mattie. You said so."_

_Yes, I had, and I was going to make sure that would be. Somehow…_

I released a breath, hearing voices around me. It never took long for them to start talking. I glanced at the podium and was surprised to see that no one was standing near it. Oh, it was a break…

I turned and saw that Alfred was back as well. He smiled slightly at me, shrugging. 'When did we go on break?'

'No idea.' I remembered Francis and Arthur. They were probably spying on us again, even if it wasn't exactly spying. 'We should probably talk about something.'

'Hmm…' He opened his mouth, about to say something when his eyes widened.

My eyebrow's furrowed. "What?"

He blinked a few times, looking around before whispering, "We forgot Kuma."

I stared for a moment before I looked with him. I couldn't believe that… He wasn't anywhere to be seen. I was so used to bringing him and we were in so much of a hurry… "We did." That was just great… At least I had fed him not long before we had left, but still… I felt horrible for forgetting him. Even if he did ask me 'who?' all the time.

"He should be fine at home right?"

I nodded. "Yes, he'll be fine. He should just sleep until we get back. He might wander around, but other than that…"

A knocking sounded through the room, loud and low. We turned towards the podium to see Ludwig standing, waiting for us to quiet down. For once, everyone did and waited for him to restart the meeting.

We waited, a bit impatiently, through the next round of speeches. And then the next one after that. My feet were tapping by the time we finally reached the end. There had been minimal breaks because we all wanted to get it over and done with. Still, when we were dismissed I knew that the sun had long since gone out of the sky.

I nodded towards Alfred and we stood, ready to leave. I glanced at Arthur and Francis and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had already gone. We left the room quickly, not seeing them in the halls we passed, and were soon on the way home.

* * *

"Why are we out here Francis?" I was leaning against one of the two walls, sitting uncomfortably on the carpet. "This is a hallway."

He nodded, smirking. "Yes, I've gathered that Anglettere. So glad you have noticed." He sat next to me and I raised an eyebrow.

God, he could be so annoying sometimes. "We are here to plan I assume?"

He nodded, setting his hands in his lap. "Of course. You saw them today. We need to understand what is going on."

I huffed. "Yes, but we could figure that out in the meeting room. Do you really think a hallway is best?"

Francis shrugged. "It seems to work for me. The meeting room had too many nations."

I looked at him oddly, though that always seemed to happen. "It's not like we are planning something illegal."

He smiled, saying jokingly, "Oh, why would you think that?"

I groaned, smacking my head against the wall. In hindsight this wasn't a good idea considering I already had a headache. "Of all the people… Why am I stuck here with you?" It was already dark… I would have liked to go home, though I knew that that wouldn't happen at the moment.

The Frenchman answered simply, "Because you care, mon ami."

My eyes narrowed. "Fine." I answered, not wanting to argue any further. I opened my mouth to ask what we should do, but before a word could come out I heard footsteps. We turned our heads, scanning the hall. Yao was coming our way, his papers in his hands. And I thought we may have picked a secluded hallway. Oh wait, no,_ everyone_ could just walk down a hallway. The stupid Frenchman…

Yao stopped when he saw us, his eyebrows furrowing. "Why aren't you two heading home?"

Before Francis could answer, with a very sorry excuse for a reply I'm sure, I spoke. "We are trying to figure out what to do about Alfred and Matthew."

The Chinese man walked closer, stopping when he was across from us. "Oh, I see. What would that be?"

We glanced at each other. Francis shrugged, smiling slightly. Yao stared at us and I couldn't be sure what he was thinking. I was fairly sure it was that we were both idiots.

"Why are you in this hallway?" Francis asked, curious. He motioned down the hall. "The exit is in the other direction."

Yao shrugged, glancing in the same direction. "I parked on the opposite side of the building and decided to take the back exit."

Francis nodded in response. "Ah." Without a pause, he asked, "Would you like to help us with our plans? You were with us after all."

The git was right… Yao had been at that meeting and had come with us to question them, though he had left it up to us for the decision making bit. I wasn't really sure what to think about that, but… we could use an extra hand in making the plans and carrying them out, whatever they would be. He might be concerned too.

After a moment of deliberation, however, Yao shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I'll have to decline." He started to walk off, away from us.

My eyes narrowed. What was the point of even asking if he wasn't going to help? Why would he come with us to ask them questions? Maybe I was wrong. "Don't you care?" My voice was angry, though it wasn't very loud. He should be concerned. Next to me, Francis looked annoyed and somewhat confused.

Yao paused. Then he turned towards us, frowning, and rolled his eyes. When he spoke I could tell that he was annoyed as well, though somehow he still managed to say somewhat respectfully, "Of course I do." He took a few steps forward, his eyes narrowing. "They are my fellow nations. Of course I care. _But…_" He stared at us for a moment. "It is their business, whatever it is, and I don't want to meddle in it. I don't think they would want you to either." He sighed softly. When he next spoke his voice was completely calm, if a bit weighed down. "Let me give you some advice…" He looked between us and met our eyes, making sure that we were listening. "If they want to tell you, they will."

We were quiet for a moment, expecting him to walk off again. He waited.

"And… if they don't?" Francis responded, his voice quiet.

"If they don't…" His expression changed, becoming almost sad. "If they don't it may take time. And I know you will not want to hear this, but whatever they don't want to share may be something that you don't need to hear." After a moment he turned and continued on his way.

The hallway was silent for a few moments. Next to me, Francis spoke quietly. "That could be true…"

I huffed, crossing my arms. Even if he might be right… "I think we could help them with it, whatever it may be. But in order to do that we need to understand what is going on."

He was silent for a long moment before nodding. "Alright… What should we do?"

I thought, though no ideas popped in. "We could…" What were we willing to do? If we kept asking they might say eventually, but we didn't want to wait that long to help. And we both knew that those two could be extremely stubborn when they wanted to be.

Suddenly, Francis sat up. "Oh!" He was nearly grinning.

My eyebrows furrowed. "What?" What could he have thought of? It wasn't like we had many options.

He turned towards me, his smile shifting into a slight smirk that reminded me vaguely of Gilbert's. "You won't want to know until after it's done."

I stared at him, squinting like that would allow me to see what was going on in that… twisted brain of his. "You sound like you're planning a murder."

He laughed, standing. The Frenchman took a few steps down the hall and shrugged in response. "You never know, Arthur."

I sat up, my eyes narrowing. "You don't joke about things like that frog."

Francis turned his head back to look at me and nodded, laughing softly. "I know. Just trying to lighten the mood…" He smiled. "Besides, if I were going to kill someone I wouldn't say anything about it." When I stared he shook his head, grabbed his things, and began walking away. "I will tell you what happens. It might take a little while for me to figure it out though."

What was he going on about?

* * *

I yawned, putting the last of the can of salmon in Kuma's bowl. "There you go."

The bear looked at me for a moment before nodding. "Thanks." As he began eating I returned to the living room. Alfred was on the couch, looking like he had passed out. His legs were already sprawled out and an arm was hanging off the side. I smiled slightly and shook my head, looking around the room. I hoped Alfred hadn't moved the blankets… When I found the small closet not far away and opened it I nodded. Yes, still unmovable.

I grabbed a blue one, one that appeared to be a quilt, and returned to the living room. He was still in the same position and I silently laid it on top of him. Just as I turned around I heard his voice, which was now extremely quiet. Turning, I waited. He didn't look to have moved, but I knew better. A moment later his eyes cracked open and found mine. He smiled slightly.

"Can we have food?" His voice was tired, despite the fact that we had slept for an hour or so earlier.

I nodded, laughing softly. "Sure." As I moved towards the kitchen I asked, "What do you want?"

He was silent for a moment, trying to think of an answer to the question. Then he quickly sat up, shaking his head. "Uh uh, I'm helping you with that."

"Al, at this point you'll hurt yourself more than the food."

He stared at me for a moment, eyebrows furrowing. "But…"

I nodded. "I know, I know. I'm the guest." I walked into the kitchen and took out a fork, pointing it at him through the doorway. "But I'm also your brother, so deal with it."

A smile slowly made its way onto his face. Alfred nodded, though he still sat up. "Okay."

I asked again, "So what do you want?" I hoped it would be something easy and that didn't require a lot of time.

'Grilled cheese.'

I nodded at the thought. 'Alright. That works.' I took out eight pieces of bread and quickly made two for each of us. When they were all done I set the skillet in the sink and returned to the living room. After I had given Alfred his I sat in the chair across from the couch and started on my own. We ate quietly, which I'm sure would boggle the other nation's minds if they saw, until we were done.

Kuma was lying on the floor next to me, already asleep. I glanced at my watch, internally groaning when I saw the time. "It's almost eleven thirty."

Alfred blinked. "Really…?" When I nodded he yawned. "Okay, time for bed." For a moment he looked like he was debating if he should get off the couch, but stood anyway, grabbing the blanket. He turned towards me. "What do we have to do tomorrow?"

I shrugged. "Nothing as far as I know. Except paperwork, but…"

He smiled, knowing where I was going on the subject. "That can wait. We can play a crap load of games if you want. Or just do whatever."

"Sure." We found ourselves walking down the stairs towards Gaho's room, almost on autopilot. We did this quite a bit to make sure that she was okay. Just to be safe. When we reached the door Alfred opened it and we peered inside. It looked just as we had left it. Not a single thing had been moved and Gaho was still the same.

Alfred's face shifted for a moment. "Al…"

He nodded slowly. "I know, I know…" 'Not my fault.' He shut the door quietly and turned to go back up, rubbing his eyes. His foot paused on the first step, his voice a little curious. "Why don't we turn our phones off? Then we have an excuse for why we don't answer their calls. If they call anyway."

'Yeah, sounds good.' "You mean for the night right?"

He shrugged, smiling when he looked back at me. "Yeah. Don't want to miss Ludwig bugging the crap out of us with his mass texts."

I laughed softly, continuing up the stairs with him. "Never. It's always great to fun those. And when everyone answers back and we still get their responses?"

Alfred nodded, grinning. He shut the door after I came out of the stairwell. "The best." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, turning it off. I did the same. We set them on the coffee table, glad to know that no one would be texting or calling us at the crack of dawn.

My brother paused on the way to his room however. I raised an eyebrow, thinking something may be wrong. "What?"

When he turned around he was grinning in a way a child might. He met my eyes, his eyes lighting up. "Wanna build a fort?"

I blinked for a moment, though I wasn't sure why the question surprised me. I remembered building forts with him a long time ago and it had been really fun; like it was our own little house that no one else was allowed into. We still did sometimes, but usually we were too busy. A smile spread across my face and I nodded, not caring that I was tired. "Of course."

We started grabbing pillows and blankets, much more than necessary. Kuma sat not far away, watching the events, or possibly the initial mayhem that we called planning, unfold.

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think. I hope that Yao was okay because I don't normally write him. And I don't know where the fort thing came from... It kind of popped up. I don't know, at least they're having fun.**


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